Posts by Steve Place

Invite a Friend Sunday – September 23 Recent research has shown that the best-received means of seeing new people walk into one’s church is a personal invitation. However, it’s good to remember that in today’s culture, you might be inviting someone to attend a church service for the first time in their lives. Communicating the value of why a churchgoer attends is going to take some time. Almost 70% of Americans say a personal invitation from a family member or…

God of Mercy & God of Wrath Must be two different Gods…right?!? Not so fast! As we read and study the Bible, it becomes clear that God is the same in the Old and New Testaments. Even though the Bible is 66 individual books written on two (or possibly three) continents, in three different languages, over a period of approximately 1500 years by more than 40 authors, it remains one unified book from beginning to end. In it we see…

Why You Should Keep Taking Your Kids to Church I remember sitting as a kid in church sucking on wintergreen Lifesavers and coloring with a pencil that was supplied for me right there in the pew. I would fill in all the spaces in the e’s and o’s on the offering envelopes or bulletin. And though I might have been preoccupied with my mints and doodling, I was picking things up. Was it easy for my mom and dad to corral…

I was struggling years ago to find just the right prayer to pray on Memorial Day. I wanted it to be a prayer where we can thank God for our country and thank God for the men and women who have defended this country, without stating that God has somehow made us better than others who live in other countries. Has God blessed us in the U.S.? Absolutely! But I believe he has also blessed the people of other nations…

Let’s Be Clear We’ve all heard that it’s important for a church to have a vision statement. Let’s face it, people have been talking about how pastors need to cast vision and explain purpose for as long as you can remember. The vision is a clear and challenging picture of our future. The vision statement inspires our church to pursue our mission. The vision touches and flows out of the hearts of the church members. Our vision is what we…

A-GREAT-CULTURE Agriculture?!? No, A Great Culture. I’ve worked in a lot of places where the culture was less than healthy. There is nothing worse than working in an organization that has a bad culture. It doesn’t matter how much money you make or how many weeks of vacation you are given; when you work in a toxic environment, you still come home tense and stressed at the end of each day. And that isn’t worth it. On the other hand, there is…

The new bulletin design is up and running and it’s a great thing! A reminder that the mission at Lakewood is to BRING people in; BUILD them up in the faith & SEND them out to serve! It’s obvious that the bulletin doesn’t exist to bring any one to visit us. But it has EVERYTHING to do with the building and sending process. The new tear-off connect card is designed to do what it says, CONNECT our regulars and new…

So, what’s the story on this Flocknote sheep?!? Well, that sheep has a name and it is Uno! Uno is that one, lost sheep (you know, the one from Luke 15…that we’re supposed to leave the ninety-nine to go after?) Uno is all around us in the poor and the lonely. In the unloved and the hopeless. In our homes and pews. In the mirror. Uno reminds us that we are on a passionate mission to build a church that…

Here’s what I’m NOT giving up for Lent I’ve frequently observed the traditional giving something up each year during Lent as a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice for me. Common thing I hear as suggestions from others social media, excess TV watching, swearing, pop, and of course sweets. These days it seems lots of people just end up using Lent as a reason to diet, which can be frustrating (not the point)! Although, if Jesus is the motivation you need to…